If people really are useless sheep, Johnny should've just sold out and lived the cushy rocker life like Kerry and Rogue.
I wouldn't exactly call Rogue's life "cushy" by any stretch. It was definitively "a choice" - although at the point you meet her she's what, 70?
I did very much like the detail that before you assault Arasaka tower she's calling up her son to him to watch out for the fireworks. I get the feeling she tried to live the cushy life and never adapted to it - probably because ultimately she never got over Johnny disappearing, seeing as how that scene plays out.
Johnny would absolutely be living Rogue's life if things had turned out differently, he just wasn't ever going to let Arasaka go after what happened with Alt.
I mean, Silverhand is a garbage person. Like, his complaints about society are valid, but he treats everyone terribly
As valid as his complaints may be he isn't actually offering any alternatives or actual thoughts beyond the generic nihilism of a 14 year old boy struggling with puberty.
And that's the core of my problem with Johnny: we're supposed to think he's cool or amazing or whatever but all I wanted was for him to shut the fuck up or say something actually useful for a change.
In his defense neither are the vast majority of the people with the same complaints about society today
The crazy thing is Jonny's nihilism was proven factually true.
Something with Johnny is that he had a shred of optimism about it; he really thought that his music and eventually the attack on Arasaka would provoke people into change. Waking up decades later and finding out that none of it worked really didn't help him. Arasaka just rebuilt, and his self-described biggest Samurai fan doesn't understand a thing about what he was trying to say with his music.
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
+5
Options
syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
So, Path Tracing patch just dropped.
My absolute top-end system (7950x3D, 4090, DDR5 6000 CL30, NVME PCIE 4.0) managed to hit 85ish FPS with lows in the low 70s on benchmark with DLSS3 on Balanced, and frame generation enabled.
It is stunning and, at the same time, hilarious since 0.25% of all folks on steam even have a GPU capable of getting 60fps out of this mode.
They are trying to make this game the Crysis of this generation.
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
+3
Options
ThegreatcowLord of All BaconsWashington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered Userregular
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
Agreed. I think one of the biggest pain points for me overall is pretty much the total absence of any kind of faction system. I realize it would be a nightmare managing things given the sheer number of gangs/smaller groups involved, but I would have liked some kind of progression/tracking of your dealings with the various gangs that could potentially affect you as you navigate through night city. As it is right now they're basically nothing more than occasional quest hubs and loot pinatas when you come across groups of them and nothing more than that.
Big patch for no content and features for a small amount of people. This should have been an opt in or something. The SSD I have CP77 on is pretty full already.
Man, for all the shit this game gets for having bugs and glitches at launch,
I have never had as terrible an experience with it in 200+ hrs as I did in the first 30 minutes of trying to replay Fallout 4 eight-years post release.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
Agreed. I think one of the biggest pain points for me overall is pretty much the total absence of any kind of faction system. I realize it would be a nightmare managing things given the sheer number of gangs/smaller groups involved, but I would have liked some kind of progression/tracking of your dealings with the various gangs that could potentially affect you as you navigate through night city. As it is right now they're basically nothing more than occasional quest hubs and loot pinatas when you come across groups of them and nothing more than that.
One of the things I really would have wanted with the gangs was that enaging them should have been more distinct between them; Things like have the animals rush in with close range weapons and melee as their preffered tactic, 6th street going big on drones, The Maelstrom being nightmares of cyberware, the tiger claws being loaded up with smart weapons... by all means give them overlap but when I'm fighting one gang it should require me to approach it differently then another because of the distinct advantages that each one has.
And yeah: a notoriety system would have been great; maybe when you get a really high threat level smaller groups will scatter because of how dangerous you are but come back in force to deal with you. Maybe if you really beat down one of the gangs the others start pushing into their turf so you start seeing the Moxx rolling into tiger claw territory or the Wraiths start fucking shit up in the streets because who's going to stop them?
Just so much potential here and none of it actually realized.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I'd love to know what you think the games "focus" is if it's not dealing with the Silverhand situation.
Just remember that half the people you meet are below average intelligence.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I mean, that's the point.
They made the big time, they do the awesome fame-bringing operations, they struck an awesome blow against the corporations, they... Didn't amount to shit, and got their friends killed, and is this all there is? Like is this really it? THIS is what you're striving for? Killing yourself for? So you can become a cocktail in a bar catering to people whose goal is to become a fucking cocktail recipe, and nothing ever, ever changes?
Johnny's kind of a dipshit, kind of an asshole, and fully stuck up his own ass sniffing farts, and part of the plot unwinding is, maybe, him realising that. And you realising "y'know, these heroes kind of aren't, but maybe they had the right motivation sometimes", and at the end, you get the chance to buy in or just bail the fuck out and try to do better with what and who you have left.
I mean the one thing you're pretty clearly shown in game is that every single "famous" character has one thing in common: They ended up dead.
The thing about character ages: I've decided the only reason this game takes place in 2077 is marketing. The game lore basically stops in 2025, and the world is essentially in stasis for the next 50 years. It seems the designers really, really wanted to stay true to the original game's timeline - but then the marketing department realized that if they called it "Cyberpunk 2025" it would break people's brains when they saw all the future stuff that had developed over the last three years. And so we got the weird 50-year stasis. Which, yes, makes it odd to see all these characters from the original RPG looking so spry.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I'd love to know what you think the games "focus" is if it's not dealing with the Silverhand situation.
You know what? Even though I didn't write clearly enough, good point. I think the game's critical flaw is that it's about dealing with him. I think that, out of the many possible stories the writers could've come up with for this setting, they picked the one that requires the most heavy lifting from a single NPC to work, and the way they wrote that NPC was terrible, thereby making the bulk of the main story terrible.
By the end, we're supposed to be left with a terrible choice between two essentially equally viable options - V and Johnny. The problem is that V, generally speaking, is the player's cipher and Johnny has 0 redeeming qualities. So, the conflict that the entire game hinges upon simply doesn't work. There is no real dilemma between (for all intents and purposes) me and this intrusion in my fictional brain who has done literally nothing of value during his time in said fictional brain.
Given that, the time we spend with Johnny complaining about every damn thing is frustrating. That it's the bulk of the game by choice is a problem. Not even Keanu's natural charm can elevate Johnny. And we're forced to drag him around with us because, well, that's the story. It sucks.
I think the main plot could have worked if they changed Johnny a bit. As it stands, it's a pretty tedious experience IMO. A good editor was needed.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I mean, that's the point.
They made the big time, they do the awesome fame-bringing operations, they struck an awesome blow against the corporations, they... Didn't amount to shit, and got their friends killed, and is this all there is? Like is this really it? THIS is what you're striving for? Killing yourself for? So you can become a cocktail in a bar catering to people whose goal is to become a fucking cocktail recipe, and nothing ever, ever changes?
Johnny's kind of a dipshit, kind of an asshole, and fully stuck up his own ass sniffing farts, and part of the plot unwinding is, maybe, him realising that. And you realising "y'know, these heroes kind of aren't, but maybe they had the right motivation sometimes", and at the end, you get the chance to buy in or just bail the fuck out and try to do better with what and who you have left.
I mean the one thing you're pretty clearly shown in game is that every single "famous" character has one thing in common: They ended up dead.
I thought that game was pretty clear about Johnny just being a washed up has been who can't let go of being a punk, despite it amounting to nothing
See, I acknowledge this, but... none of it makes the experience fun IMO.
I dunno... I generally like cyberpunk (genre) stories, but the game just fell flat for me. Some cool moments here and there, but being tethered to someone else's OC for that long was just draining/boring to me. I really wish the story was about us/V making our way in the city than swerving after the first chapter to dealing with Johnny and his bullshit. Having a single NPC essentially running the show for 80% of the game, and never frigging shutting up just wasn't for me.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I mean, that's the point.
They made the big time, they do the awesome fame-bringing operations, they struck an awesome blow against the corporations, they... Didn't amount to shit, and got their friends killed, and is this all there is? Like is this really it? THIS is what you're striving for? Killing yourself for? So you can become a cocktail in a bar catering to people whose goal is to become a fucking cocktail recipe, and nothing ever, ever changes?
Johnny's kind of a dipshit, kind of an asshole, and fully stuck up his own ass sniffing farts, and part of the plot unwinding is, maybe, him realising that. And you realising "y'know, these heroes kind of aren't, but maybe they had the right motivation sometimes", and at the end, you get the chance to buy in or just bail the fuck out and try to do better with what and who you have left.
I mean the one thing you're pretty clearly shown in game is that every single "famous" character has one thing in common: They ended up dead.
The problem is
It isn't a slow unwinding. It's incredibly obvious from the get go that Johnny and friends are self absorbed assholes in a setting that is exploding with them and that the infinite nihilism of night city is inescapable.
This isn't exactly deep or compelling if you have completed puberty.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I'd love to know what you think the games "focus" is if it's not dealing with the Silverhand situation.
You know what? Even though I didn't write clearly enough, good point. I think the game's critical flaw is that it's about dealing with him. I think that, out of the many possible stories the writers could've come up with for this setting, they picked the one that requires the most heavy lifting from a single NPC to work, and the way they wrote that NPC was terrible, thereby making the bulk of the main story terrible.
By the end, we're supposed to be left with a terrible choice between two essentially equally viable options - V and Johnny. The problem is that V, generally speaking, is the player's cipher and Johnny has 0 redeeming qualities. So, the conflict that the entire game hinges upon simply doesn't work. There is no real dilemma between (for all intents and purposes) me and this intrusion in my fictional brain who has done literally nothing of value during his time in said fictional brain.
Given that, the time we spend with Johnny complaining about every damn thing is frustrating. That it's the bulk of the game by choice is a problem. Not even Keanu's natural charm can elevate Johnny. And we're forced to drag him around with us because, well, that's the story. It sucks.
I think the main plot could have worked if they changed Johnny a bit. As it stands, it's a pretty tedious experience IMO. A good editor was needed.
One issue I had is after some of the side quests you clearly get more in tune with silverhand and come to a better understanding but a lot of the dialogue later from other side quests/main story line stuff seems to ignore that so a lot of whiplash of starting to get along to not and back and forth depending if it recognizes your "friendship level" or not. I think if it would have been a bit more consistent of if you chose to work at improving the relationship it actually felt more like that consistently.
So, I finally finished my first playthrough. Went with a Nomad guy who's skilled with hacking because IRL I'm a dude living in a rural part of the US who's done some programming... go with what you know and all that.
I think my biggest complaint is:
We never really get to plan another heist. The prologue section, until you're betrayed by Dex, shot in the head, and Johnny comes online is probably the most interesting and polished part of the entire thing. While I've never played the CP TTRPG, I'm familiar with the overall tropes (mostly through Shadowrun). And while run that goes bad is a common, if effective, setup, it sucks that we really don't get to do something similar until the end*.
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Johnny Silverhand being an incessant grouchy sourpuss 24/7
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
johnny is like, so cool because he was in the setting and he lost everything and we are supposed to adore him despite how 70% of what comes out of his mouth is useless whining that makes you think the arasaka ending is the best choice since he dies and is dead forever.
That's actually another complaint of mine:
I'd assume that probably 90% of the player base has no idea who any of these characters are. The game - specifically through Jackie - tells you they're a big deal, but they mostly seem like has-been losers to me as I climb up the underbelly rankings. There's nothing really showing them to be badasses. Even in the Johnny flashbacks, it's all essentially sound and fury signifying nothing. He's a loudmouth asshole who fucked around and found out a few times, and that's about it. Nothing he does - or did - in the game endears him to me.*
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I'd love to know what you think the games "focus" is if it's not dealing with the Silverhand situation.
You know what? Even though I didn't write clearly enough, good point. I think the game's critical flaw is that it's about dealing with him. I think that, out of the many possible stories the writers could've come up with for this setting, they picked the one that requires the most heavy lifting from a single NPC to work, and the way they wrote that NPC was terrible, thereby making the bulk of the main story terrible.
By the end, we're supposed to be left with a terrible choice between two essentially equally viable options - V and Johnny. The problem is that V, generally speaking, is the player's cipher and Johnny has 0 redeeming qualities. So, the conflict that the entire game hinges upon simply doesn't work. There is no real dilemma between (for all intents and purposes) me and this intrusion in my fictional brain who has done literally nothing of value during his time in said fictional brain.
Given that, the time we spend with Johnny complaining about every damn thing is frustrating. That it's the bulk of the game by choice is a problem. Not even Keanu's natural charm can elevate Johnny. And we're forced to drag him around with us because, well, that's the story. It sucks.
I think the main plot could have worked if they changed Johnny a bit. As it stands, it's a pretty tedious experience IMO. A good editor was needed.
One issue I had is after some of the side quests you clearly get more in tune with silverhand and come to a better understanding but a lot of the dialogue later from other side quests/main story line stuff seems to ignore that so a lot of whiplash of starting to get along to not and back and forth depending if it recognizes your "friendship level" or not. I think if it would have been a bit more consistent of if you chose to work at improving the relationship it actually felt more like that consistently.
To me it just felt like some people I actually know, whose mood swings would drastically change how they acted. So sometimes they'd be chill and understanding, and sometimes they were a colossal asshole to me.
For some of them it was a case of them previously having been a big dickhead and trying to be better, but sometimes slipping back into their old ways. For others it was because the person had mental issues they weren't equipped to handle.
Anyways, this meant that while Johnny wasn't always pleasant to be around, the whole flip-flopping thing didn't seem particularly unrealistic to me. I saw it as he was slowly learning and coming to terms with himself and V's situation, but with occasional bits of the old Johnny showing up. People aren't always consistent, you know?
Darmak on
+2
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ThegreatcowLord of All BaconsWashington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered Userregular
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
Agreed. I think one of the biggest pain points for me overall is pretty much the total absence of any kind of faction system. I realize it would be a nightmare managing things given the sheer number of gangs/smaller groups involved, but I would have liked some kind of progression/tracking of your dealings with the various gangs that could potentially affect you as you navigate through night city. As it is right now they're basically nothing more than occasional quest hubs and loot pinatas when you come across groups of them and nothing more than that.
One of the things I really would have wanted with the gangs was that enaging them should have been more distinct between them; Things like have the animals rush in with close range weapons and melee as their preffered tactic, 6th street going big on drones, The Maelstrom being nightmares of cyberware, the tiger claws being loaded up with smart weapons... by all means give them overlap but when I'm fighting one gang it should require me to approach it differently then another because of the distinct advantages that each one has.
And yeah: a notoriety system would have been great; maybe when you get a really high threat level smaller groups will scatter because of how dangerous you are but come back in force to deal with you. Maybe if you really beat down one of the gangs the others start pushing into their turf so you start seeing the Moxx rolling into tiger claw territory or the Wraiths start fucking shit up in the streets because who's going to stop them?
Just so much potential here and none of it actually realized.
Literally the only example of this playing out that I can recall is something I stumbled across accidentally!
I went into some central market in Valentino Territory, crap I forget which, and one of the many food vendors actually called out to me and asked me to buy some food from him. I sit down and we get to discussing my drink choices, and then suddenly
a couple of gonks start trying to steal his motorbike that's parked a few feet away from him. And you come to find out that these gonks are friends of his daughter and they're pissed that she went full corpo and are wanting to steal his bike as a sort of "payback" I guess? And V is just standing there watching this all play out when the gonks notice him and if your street cred is high enough, they suddenly realize "who you are" and how you came back from the dead and stuff and essentially piss their pants and scatter instead of fighting you.
Pretty much the only moment of distinct "awed recognition" of how much of a badass you're becoming in Night City. Literally no one else seems to treat you with any modicum of terrified awe/respect aside from your fixers when you finally finish all their gigs or something.
There's a gig Regina gives you to kill a Tiger Claw BD director. If you do this before going to look for Evelyn at Clouds, you can bring it up with Woodman to make him more cooperative. Granted, not super worth it, because Woodman deserves to be shot.
After a 100 plus hour, I've finished up this game. Don't think the story with Johnny wound up working at all. The leveling and looting systems aren't interesting. The open world does more harm than good. But, as I sit here, it's really hard to not just play the whole thing again. I'm not sure how intentional it is but this game spends a lot of time thinking about death and the people left behind afterwards. And when I look at the game this way, the story actually works. V had a nice arc of going from a punk kid looking to make it big to someone who found a peaceful end with a family by their side.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
She was finally happy.
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
Agreed. I think one of the biggest pain points for me overall is pretty much the total absence of any kind of faction system. I realize it would be a nightmare managing things given the sheer number of gangs/smaller groups involved, but I would have liked some kind of progression/tracking of your dealings with the various gangs that could potentially affect you as you navigate through night city. As it is right now they're basically nothing more than occasional quest hubs and loot pinatas when you come across groups of them and nothing more than that.
One of the things I really would have wanted with the gangs was that enaging them should have been more distinct between them; Things like have the animals rush in with close range weapons and melee as their preffered tactic, 6th street going big on drones, The Maelstrom being nightmares of cyberware, the tiger claws being loaded up with smart weapons... by all means give them overlap but when I'm fighting one gang it should require me to approach it differently then another because of the distinct advantages that each one has.
And yeah: a notoriety system would have been great; maybe when you get a really high threat level smaller groups will scatter because of how dangerous you are but come back in force to deal with you. Maybe if you really beat down one of the gangs the others start pushing into their turf so you start seeing the Moxx rolling into tiger claw territory or the Wraiths start fucking shit up in the streets because who's going to stop them?
Just so much potential here and none of it actually realized.
Literally the only example of this playing out that I can recall is something I stumbled across accidentally!
I went into some central market in Valentino Territory, crap I forget which, and one of the many food vendors actually called out to me and asked me to buy some food from him. I sit down and we get to discussing my drink choices, and then suddenly
a couple of gonks start trying to steal his motorbike that's parked a few feet away from him. And you come to find out that these gonks are friends of his daughter and they're pissed that she went full corpo and are wanting to steal his bike as a sort of "payback" I guess? And V is just standing there watching this all play out when the gonks notice him and if your street cred is high enough, they suddenly realize "who you are" and how you came back from the dead and stuff and essentially piss their pants and scatter instead of fighting you.
Pretty much the only moment of distinct "awed recognition" of how much of a badass you're becoming in Night City. Literally no one else seems to treat you with any modicum of terrified awe/respect aside from your fixers when you finally finish all their gigs or something.
That was awesome! Throughout that whole conversation I was basically toggling my cyberdeck open and deciding who was going to get Short Circuit and who was gong to get Suicide, and then when they realize what's up....
The thing is I think moments like that being rare is actually pretty consistent. Everyone in the gangs clearly thinks they're about to be the next big thing in Night City, despite the fact that obviously none of them are anywhere near it...
There's a gig Regina gives you to kill a Tiger Claw BD director. If you do this before going to look for Evelyn at Clouds, you can bring it up with Woodman to make him more cooperative. Granted, not super worth it, because Woodman deserves to be shot.
Zilla36021st Century. |She/Her|Trans* Woman In Aviators Firing A Bazooka. ⚛️Registered Userregular
@autono-wally, erotibot300 Perhaps one day we'll see something akin to Pi-hole built into some Augmented Reality glasses with an ad-focused image recognition and replacement algo (all ads are auto-replaced with kittens etc), or maybe even contact lenses.
But then we might just see an escalating arms race emerge as corpos try to subvert the ad-blocking or get the tech made illegal or otherwise banned.
Times square is certainly an extreme example, but has merit. For autistic people/people on the spectrum, it can be utterly overwhelming, and painful to the senses.
I got a new gaming rig and have been enjoying this finally.
I am bummed that Weapon Glitch, even when it makes the enemy's guns explode, doesn't force them into melee. They just pull out a pistol.
I was going for a full punchgirl early, but using combat quickhacks as a way of controlling the battlefield and forcing the enemy to fight me hand-to-hand just sounded really appealing. Like every encounter is me doing a dojo invasion, turning off all their guns and doing the finger flip 'come on' gesture.
Unfortunately, it is not that. But I guess blinding/crippling enemies is okay.
I got a new gaming rig and have been enjoying this finally.
I am bummed that Weapon Glitch, even when it makes the enemy's guns explode, doesn't force them into melee. They just pull out a pistol.
I was going for a full punchgirl early, but using combat quickhacks as a way of controlling the battlefield and forcing the enemy to fight me hand-to-hand just sounded really appealing. Like every encounter is me doing a dojo invasion, turning off all their guns and doing the finger flip 'come on' gesture.
Unfortunately, it is not that. But I guess blinding/crippling enemies is okay.
I ran legendary gorilla arms just punching right wing militia gangers off the roof.
+2
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jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
Well I swapped the Stephenson legendary deck for the ultimate one, and I dunno. I feel like there should be a Control specialized cyberdeck in the game, maybe in the expansion.
Because right now I'm definitely feeling the thing that Tim Rogers did: that goblinesque beckoning to offensive quick hacks as the solution for everything. Yes, I could play like a cool guy, debilitating enemies to weaken them up for my fists... or I could just... turn their brains off. With a lot of ram, cost reductions, and cooldown reductions out the wazoo, the ultimate has, like, no cooldown? Once the enemy network is breached, I just walk up, and while their eyes are exploding from the ocular daemon I pushed into their network, upload the ultimate. One second later they pop, then another enemy pops from the chain because of the deck. Then I just swing my reticle to another target and repeat.
I mean I guess it is cool in a way that it has this effect of me just walking through the area while everyone starts having seizures and falling over, like I'm fucking Pestilence of the apocalyptic riders or something, but not exactly what I was envisioning. It's just... so easy it's hard not to take it.
I kinda feel like the kill and incapacitate ultimate quickhack should be removed and cyber psychosis should not have the unit commit suicide.
Agreed. If you're speccing into quickhacking it seems trivially easy to get to a point where the ultimates are spammable, and at that point the damage doesn't even matter.
I kinda feel like the kill and incapacitate ultimate quickhack should be removed and cyber psychosis should not have the unit commit suicide.
Also all of the damaging quickhacks should be lethal.
Also lethal take downs should be more silent than non-lethal takedowns
look i can agree with all but the last one
its a Known Fact that judo chops are always the most sneakest and optimalest and kung fuest option. u trained under a master to learn that chop ur hand cleaves the molecules in twain while leaving necks standing the air remains unperturbed
Posts
I wouldn't exactly call Rogue's life "cushy" by any stretch. It was definitively "a choice" - although at the point you meet her she's what, 70?
Johnny would absolutely be living Rogue's life if things had turned out differently, he just wasn't ever going to let Arasaka go after what happened with Alt.
I’m gonna say
Fair.
Something with Johnny is that he had a shred of optimism about it; he really thought that his music and eventually the attack on Arasaka would provoke people into change. Waking up decades later and finding out that none of it worked really didn't help him. Arasaka just rebuilt, and his self-described biggest Samurai fan doesn't understand a thing about what he was trying to say with his music.
I probably will wait until the DLC comes out and then do another big modded playthrough. I think this game doesn't work more often than it does, but when it does work I found it deeply affecting. I about melted during the end credits when Judy said
My absolute top-end system (7950x3D, 4090, DDR5 6000 CL30, NVME PCIE 4.0) managed to hit 85ish FPS with lows in the low 70s on benchmark with DLSS3 on Balanced, and frame generation enabled.
It is stunning and, at the same time, hilarious since 0.25% of all folks on steam even have a GPU capable of getting 60fps out of this mode.
They are trying to make this game the Crysis of this generation.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I find with CP2077 that I'm more interested in trying different styles of gameplay then anything else; like I muscled through the stories and while there are certainly ones that really stick (the religious one for example) a lot of the content is honestly pretty generic "Go here, kill these dudes because they're assholes".
Agreed. I think one of the biggest pain points for me overall is pretty much the total absence of any kind of faction system. I realize it would be a nightmare managing things given the sheer number of gangs/smaller groups involved, but I would have liked some kind of progression/tracking of your dealings with the various gangs that could potentially affect you as you navigate through night city. As it is right now they're basically nothing more than occasional quest hubs and loot pinatas when you come across groups of them and nothing more than that.
Wud yoo laek to lern aboot meatz? Look here!
I have never had as terrible an experience with it in 200+ hrs as I did in the first 30 minutes of trying to replay Fallout 4 eight-years post release.
I think my biggest complaint is:
*The mission where you have to take out security during the Arasaka parade is close. Also, I went with the Panam/Nomad ending, so I'm not sure how those other endings play out. The Nomad ending plays at doing some recon and planning, but none of it matters because it's all just defeating 4-5 waves of incoming enemies. Flashy, but pretty boring overall.
And, yeah, I 100% agree about the varying quality of the side quests. Some are super memorable, others are kill guys/steal thing for very little reason.
Above all else, I would like to see them do more with the setting and gameplay. I think a Trauma Team expansion would be cool... or, really, anything that doesn't have
Could be cool. Especially if they flesh out the city itself (more interiors, more things to do, etc.).
One of the things I really would have wanted with the gangs was that enaging them should have been more distinct between them; Things like have the animals rush in with close range weapons and melee as their preffered tactic, 6th street going big on drones, The Maelstrom being nightmares of cyberware, the tiger claws being loaded up with smart weapons... by all means give them overlap but when I'm fighting one gang it should require me to approach it differently then another because of the distinct advantages that each one has.
And yeah: a notoriety system would have been great; maybe when you get a really high threat level smaller groups will scatter because of how dangerous you are but come back in force to deal with you. Maybe if you really beat down one of the gangs the others start pushing into their turf so you start seeing the Moxx rolling into tiger claw territory or the Wraiths start fucking shit up in the streets because who's going to stop them?
Just so much potential here and none of it actually realized.
But you have to undestand re: spoiler:
That's actually another complaint of mine:
Also, even with the future tech, Rogue must be, what... 70-90? I mean, she was in her 20s-40s when she was hanging around Johnny in the 2020s. She has nothing better to do than hang out in her bar all day long being a fixer? One would think that if she was actually good at fixing, she would've retired... or, gotten sick of it and done something else.
*Yes, I know that one of the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre is to wage an unwinnable battle against forces that are too big and powerful to take down. But, even then, the heroes tend to get some small victory or two before the rug is completely pulled out from under them. Not Johnny. His attack on Arasaka Tower doesn't do anything other than get himself killed in the process, and, earlier on, he gets jumped and is unable to help Alt. His entire track record is looking cool (because Keanu is a cool guy) while being a complete asshole who does nothing but fail constantly.
My gut tells me he's someone's pet OC, and that's certainly... something.
For me, as much as I like Keanu, the game goes straight downhill every time Johnny pops up. He's an annoying distraction that takes up too much of the game's focus.
I'd love to know what you think the games "focus" is if it's not dealing with the Silverhand situation.
I mean, that's the point.
Johnny's kind of a dipshit, kind of an asshole, and fully stuck up his own ass sniffing farts, and part of the plot unwinding is, maybe, him realising that. And you realising "y'know, these heroes kind of aren't, but maybe they had the right motivation sometimes", and at the end, you get the chance to buy in or just bail the fuck out and try to do better with what and who you have left.
I mean the one thing you're pretty clearly shown in game is that every single "famous" character has one thing in common: They ended up dead.
You know what? Even though I didn't write clearly enough, good point. I think the game's critical flaw is that it's about dealing with him. I think that, out of the many possible stories the writers could've come up with for this setting, they picked the one that requires the most heavy lifting from a single NPC to work, and the way they wrote that NPC was terrible, thereby making the bulk of the main story terrible.
Given that, the time we spend with Johnny complaining about every damn thing is frustrating. That it's the bulk of the game by choice is a problem. Not even Keanu's natural charm can elevate Johnny. And we're forced to drag him around with us because, well, that's the story. It sucks.
I think the main plot could have worked if they changed Johnny a bit. As it stands, it's a pretty tedious experience IMO. A good editor was needed.
See, I acknowledge this, but... none of it makes the experience fun IMO.
I dunno... I generally like cyberpunk (genre) stories, but the game just fell flat for me. Some cool moments here and there, but being tethered to someone else's OC for that long was just draining/boring to me. I really wish the story was about us/V making our way in the city than swerving after the first chapter to dealing with Johnny and his bullshit. Having a single NPC essentially running the show for 80% of the game, and never frigging shutting up just wasn't for me.
The problem is
This isn't exactly deep or compelling if you have completed puberty.
One issue I had is after some of the side quests you clearly get more in tune with silverhand and come to a better understanding but a lot of the dialogue later from other side quests/main story line stuff seems to ignore that so a lot of whiplash of starting to get along to not and back and forth depending if it recognizes your "friendship level" or not. I think if it would have been a bit more consistent of if you chose to work at improving the relationship it actually felt more like that consistently.
To me it just felt like some people I actually know, whose mood swings would drastically change how they acted. So sometimes they'd be chill and understanding, and sometimes they were a colossal asshole to me.
For some of them it was a case of them previously having been a big dickhead and trying to be better, but sometimes slipping back into their old ways. For others it was because the person had mental issues they weren't equipped to handle.
Anyways, this meant that while Johnny wasn't always pleasant to be around, the whole flip-flopping thing didn't seem particularly unrealistic to me. I saw it as he was slowly learning and coming to terms with himself and V's situation, but with occasional bits of the old Johnny showing up. People aren't always consistent, you know?
Literally the only example of this playing out that I can recall is something I stumbled across accidentally!
I went into some central market in Valentino Territory, crap I forget which, and one of the many food vendors actually called out to me and asked me to buy some food from him. I sit down and we get to discussing my drink choices, and then suddenly
Pretty much the only moment of distinct "awed recognition" of how much of a badass you're becoming in Night City. Literally no one else seems to treat you with any modicum of terrified awe/respect aside from your fixers when you finally finish all their gigs or something.
Wud yoo laek to lern aboot meatz? Look here!
That was awesome! Throughout that whole conversation I was basically toggling my cyberdeck open and deciding who was going to get Short Circuit and who was gong to get Suicide, and then when they realize what's up....
The thing is I think moments like that being rare is actually pretty consistent. Everyone in the gangs clearly thinks they're about to be the next big thing in Night City, despite the fact that obviously none of them are anywhere near it...
Somebody's gotta eat all that bacon, Kyle!
Cyberpunk 2077 in a World of Ads
I liked this video a lot
But then we might just see an escalating arms race emerge as corpos try to subvert the ad-blocking or get the tech made illegal or otherwise banned.
Times square is certainly an extreme example, but has merit. For autistic people/people on the spectrum, it can be utterly overwhelming, and painful to the senses.
I am bummed that Weapon Glitch, even when it makes the enemy's guns explode, doesn't force them into melee. They just pull out a pistol.
I was going for a full punchgirl early, but using combat quickhacks as a way of controlling the battlefield and forcing the enemy to fight me hand-to-hand just sounded really appealing. Like every encounter is me doing a dojo invasion, turning off all their guns and doing the finger flip 'come on' gesture.
Unfortunately, it is not that. But I guess blinding/crippling enemies is okay.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Except for scavs. And Woodman.
Because right now I'm definitely feeling the thing that Tim Rogers did: that goblinesque beckoning to offensive quick hacks as the solution for everything. Yes, I could play like a cool guy, debilitating enemies to weaken them up for my fists... or I could just... turn their brains off. With a lot of ram, cost reductions, and cooldown reductions out the wazoo, the ultimate has, like, no cooldown? Once the enemy network is breached, I just walk up, and while their eyes are exploding from the ocular daemon I pushed into their network, upload the ultimate. One second later they pop, then another enemy pops from the chain because of the deck. Then I just swing my reticle to another target and repeat.
I mean I guess it is cool in a way that it has this effect of me just walking through the area while everyone starts having seizures and falling over, like I'm fucking Pestilence of the apocalyptic riders or something, but not exactly what I was envisioning. It's just... so easy it's hard not to take it.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Also all of the damaging quickhacks should be lethal.
Also lethal take downs should be more silent than non-lethal takedowns
Agreed. If you're speccing into quickhacking it seems trivially easy to get to a point where the ultimates are spammable, and at that point the damage doesn't even matter.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
look i can agree with all but the last one
its a Known Fact that judo chops are always the most sneakest and optimalest and kung fuest option. u trained under a master to learn that chop ur hand cleaves the molecules in twain while leaving necks standing the air remains unperturbed